


Lying Eyes

by ladeedadaday



Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Becky is the school nurse, Child Abuse, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Lex also works at Beanies, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Threats
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:40:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 11,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24557797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladeedadaday/pseuds/ladeedadaday
Summary: The whole story.
Relationships: Alice & Lex Foster, Alice/Deb (The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals), Alice/Lex Foster (Past), Ethan Green & Emma Perkins, Ethan Green & Tom Houston, Hannah Foster & Lex Foster, Henry Hidgens & Emma Perkins, Lex Foster & Emma Perkins, Lex Foster & Tom Houston, Lex Foster/Ethan Green, Paul Matthews/Emma Perkins, Tom Houston/Becky Barnes
Comments: 7
Kudos: 70





	1. Come Sit With Us Tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warnings will be at the beginning of each chapter. Feel free to comment in case there are any triggers that I missed!

Lex slumped down in her seat, picking at her food. First day back. She thought,  bitterly.

Alice was chattering with someone across from her. Lex was pretty sure that the girl's name was Deb, but she was too tired to care. She hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in a long time. Too busy babysitting, working, and taking care of Hannah. She felt dizzy and lightheaded, swaying side to side, and her head was starting to hurt. "Woah, Lex, are you okay?" She said, a tone of concern in her voice. "Lex, why don't you lay your head down?" Alice placed her hand on Lex's back, causing her to flinch away. "What's going on with you?"

She whined, a low, raspy sound. "I'm so tired." She knew that no one could fix it, but she wished that  just  a hand could fix it all. "I've been nonstop working." She lifted her head, squeezing her eyes shut before opening them again. She caught a glimpse of the tall guy she'd seen around school late last year. All she knew about him was that his last name was Green. He looked quite lonely, leaning against the wall, tossing around his water bottle. "Who's that?" She gestured to him, trying to make it inconspicuous.

"That's Ethan Green." Lex hummed, signaling for Deb to go on. "He's in my English class. A bit of a dick, but he's nicer than most people here. He kinda radiates the same vibes that you do. Except he's a lot less exhausted than you are,"

"That's the understatement of the twentieth century." She groaned. Alice laughed. "What're you laughing at me for?"

"It's the twenty first century." Alice giggled. "But  seriously, Lex, you're allowed to take a break sometime you know."

She shook her head, insisting that, "No, I can't. I have to save up enough for rent, and I've been putting aside money to save for a heating pad and medicine."

"Save your money for something else, I'll give you a heating pad." Lex opened her mouth to cut her off. "No,  really, it's fine. My uncle bought me one because I needed it and couldn't find the one at home, but I found it a little while ago." Alice never questioned why she had to pay for rent instead of her mother.

She knew it would be more polite to decline, but her cramps were terrible every month. She could only deal with it for so long. "Thank you so much, Al. I owe you."

"No you don't. Consider this repayment for you covering a bunch of babysitting jobs for me over the summer." Lex nodded  slowly, still looking over at Ethan. He looked over at her and gave her an awkward wave. She snapped out of her daze and looked away after mouthing 'sorry,' and he gave her a thumbs up. She was sure her face  was red, but she  really  didn't mind. She could handle teasing.

The bell rang, making Lex wince and causing her head to hurt even more. "I'll see you guys later, yeah?" The two other girls nodded and Lex began the trudge to shop class. The one class where she didn't have to try and could make it through at the top of the class anyway. Mr. Houston knew a little bit about her home life. He had even watched Hannah one night when Lex had to work.

That's when she noticed she was walking alongside Ethan to shop class. "You heading to shop, too?" He asked. She nodded, feeling more dizzy than ever before. And it wasn't from talking to Ethan. "Woah, you good?"

"Fine." She mumbled.  She was lying to him, and they both knew that, but everyone at Hatchetfield High School knows that you don't question Lex Foster  . Not if you know what's good for you. But he decided to keep a closer eye on her,  just  to make sure she didn't pass out. "So why don't I know you?"

"Well, we clearly didn't have any classes together last year, and I try to not have any unnecessary interaction." She furrowed her eyebrows. "I guess I just don't really know who to trust. And you kinda scare me." He admitted. She snorted. 

"You don't have any reason to be scared," Alice piped up, from behind them. "She's a softie once you get to know her." 

Lex pouted, not even looking back to answer. "Only about and around my sister, because she literally means everything to me." 

"See, there you go. Softie." Alice teased. Lex rolled her eyes and kept walking. 

"You should come sit with us tomorrow." She offered, looking over to him to see if he'd nod. 

He thought it over for a moment. "Okay. I will." She weakly smiled. _This'll be interesting._

Lex turned the corner to head into shop class. Mr. Houston's face lit up when he saw the pair enter the classroom. "Hey, kids!"

"Hi, Mr. Houston." She said, forcing a small smile, raising her hand to give him a high five. Ethan threw up a peace sign and waited for Mr. Houston to tell him who he was partnered with for the first semester. 

"Actually, this is perfect timing. You two are partners, you can go take a seat where ever you'd like. We'll start as soon as everyone else gets here." The pair nodded, looking for an empty table. Ethan found one at the back of the room and pointed to it, waiting for Lex to take a seat, then taking his. 

Lex rubbed at her eyes, letting out a small groan. She was happy to be away from all the noise in the hallway and cafeteria, but the lights and chatter was still too much. "Seriously, are you okay? You look like you're about to pass out."

She wanted desperately to snap at him and let him know that she didn't need to be babied, that she was fine, and that she could handle herself, but she couldn't force any words out. And then everything was black.


	2. Stupid Green Eyes

"Uh, Mr. Houston?" Ethan said, raising the hand that wasn't currently wrapped around Lex. "Lex passed out." He mentally kicked himself for not doing anything about it sooner.

"Okay, do you think you can carry her to the nurse?" Ethan nodded, already shifting to pick her up.

It turned out that it wasn't hard to carry her. She couldn't have weighed more than ninety pounds.  Concerning, but Ethan was glad he wouldn't struggle too much and could get her there with ease. "Oh, hello, Ethan!" Becky greeted, a grin on her face. "What happened here?"

"She passed out during class. Mr. Houston told me to bring her here." Becky nodded.

"Why don't you set her down on the cot, and then could you answer a few questions for me?" He nodded, humming. He set her down  gently , sitting down on the cot next to her limp form. "Did you notice any possible cause of this before she passed out?"

"She looked  really  dizzy and she was swaying side to side.  I think  she might  be tired , but I don't know." Becky began typing something on her computer.

"She's breathing right, correct?" He nodded. She typed something up. "Okay,  hopefully  she'll wake up soon, if not, we've got a bit of an issue." He looked down at her. Her eyes were opening. They were opening  slowly, but they were opening.

"She's waking up." Becky sighed in relief.

"Oh thank God."

\---

Ethan Green and his stupid green eyes. They're too bright and way too telling. Lex could tell  just  by looking at his eyes what he was feeling. And they were shining in the light, making Lex's head hurt.  Her throat was hoarse from yelling at her mother, and dry because the last time she had water was at a babysitting job . "What the fuck?" Ethan snickered at her choice of words. "I should be in shop."

"You passed out a few minutes ago." Becky said, walking over to the cot. "Ethan, you're welcome to stay, but you can leave if you'd like."

He considered his options. "I'll stay if that's okay." Becky nodded.

"Alright, Lex. Stay on your back, please." Becky instructed. "Have you had anything to eat or drink in the last 24 hours?"

"Uh-uh." Ethan raised his eyebrows, alarmed. "I was busy."

Becky sighed, handing Lex a juice box. "You should never be too busy to eat, Lex."

"I know." She mumbled. "I  just  had to work, and then I had to take care of my sister, and I had to babysit."  Ethan knew it  probably  wasn't his place to try to comfort her, but he took her hand  wordlessly, and ran his fingers over her hand  . He was actually shocked that she didn't pull her hand away, but instead squeezed his. "Hi." She said, smiling  softly.

His eyes gave everything away. He was looking at her like she was the only important thing in the world, and Lex thought it was adorable. Lex studied the expression on his face. He looked almost...peaceful? Happy? What's the word? Whatever. He looked at her in a way no one else had before. It wasn't the way her mother looked at her, eyes filled with rage and hatred. Not the way Hannah looked at her, scared and looking for comfort. Not the way Alice looked at her, eyes filled with joy and mirth. He looked at her  adoringly, lovingly. It was... nice.

\----

Ethan knew he already loved this girl, and he had only met her a few minutes ago.  He couldn't tell what she was thinking, but she didn't pull her hand away from his, so she must like him at least a little bit, right?

Lex always hid her emotions behind a stone cold face. No one could see anything she didn't want them to see. No one would know if she was happy, or hurting, or upset. She kept herself safe, and closed off. Ethan wanted to see the real Lex.  He could already tell she was having a rough life, so if he could do anything to help, he was  absolutely  gonna do his best to do it.

She closed her eyes after taking a sip of the juice. "I'm so tired." She whispered.

"Yeah, it would  probably  be best for you to stay here and catch up on some sleep." Becky suggested.

"No, it's the first day of school, I'm supposed to go to class and shit. I'm gonna try and do good this year." Lex said, still  hoarsely  whispering.

"Lex, you need rest." Ethan insisted. "Your brain won't work  properly  if you don't."

She rolled her eyes, trying to sit up. Ethan  gently  pulled her down. "Ethan's right, Lex. You're gonna do better this way. Your teachers will understand, okay?  Just  get some sleep."

Ethan stroked her hair, "It'll feel a lot better when you don't feel dizzy or anything."

"Okay..." She gave in, letting him continue to hold her hand. "You should go back to class."

"I agree. She'll be okay." Becky said, taking a seat at her desk. "You can come visit her later if you want to make sure she's doing okay." She winked at him, smiling. 

"Bye, Ethan." She drawled, letting her eyes fall shut, slowly drifting off to sleep. He smiled as he walked out. This time, she had no nightmare. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they're happy. for now.


	3. Loud, She's Scared

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Abuse

Lex hated summer, Lex hated weekends, Lex hated home. That's why she had three jobs. One would get her enough to pay rent but three kept her away from home and made her enough to let people babysit Hannah. 

Home wasn't really home at all, but it's the best she had, and the best she'd ever known. 

While she was working a shift at Toy Zone, she received a text from an unknown number. She furrowed her eyebrows. Nobody but Alice texted her. 

**unknown:** hey it's ethan

 **lex:** how'd you get my number?

 **ethan:** alice gave it to me

 **lex:** oh okay

 **ethan:** how are you feeling?

 **lex:** i'm alright. becky made me eat so i'm feeling a little stronger than yesterday

 **ethan:** that's good

 **ethan:** what are you up to

 **lex:** i'm at work about to take my break

 **ethan:** oh sorry i didn't mean to bother you at work

 **lex:** no no it's alright, i needed to get off my feet anyway

 **ethan:** okay wait where do you work

 **lex:** toy zone at the mall and beanies across the street from ccrp and i also do a lot of babysitting

 **ethan:** how do you have time for homework

 **lex:** meh i mostly do it on my breaks or the rare times when i'm not working

 **ethan:** you know you're pretty cool

 **lex:** aw thanks

 **lex:** you're not half bad yourself, green

 **ethan:** i think i'm offended

 **lex:** i won't stop you

Lex grinned at her phone. She probably looked like a total idiot, but it didn't matter to her. "Looks like I got a new friend." She said, to no one in particular. She pulled off her shoe and massaged her aching foot. Work got hard sometimes. The customers treated her like shit, her boss was a greedy asshole, but she knew she had to keep going. 

She had to pay rent, give her mother money for alcohol and weed, and pay for babysitting. "Alexandra!" Frank refused to call her Lex. "Your break is over." She groaned, slipping back on her shoe. "You're lucky to have a job at all. You're lucky you're not just some high school dropout who's constantly drunk."

"Yeah, that's my mom." Lex mumbled, throwing on her vest and shooting Ethan a text to let him know she couldn't text anymore. 

"Hurry up!" Frank ordered. "You've got work to do." 

"I'm coming!" She yelled, stomping out to the front. "Oh, hey, Oliver." 

He waved, grinning. "Hi, Lex!" He seemed like a good kid, he just got on her nerves when she was having one of her rougher days. 

"Hey, Ollie. How's school going?" He shrugged, placing his items on the counter. "Cars? I didn't know you were into cars." 

"I'm not, but I like figuring out how to put things together, so my uncle suggested model cars." He explained. Lex tried to look like she cared, but her head had been bothering her all day, and she just wanted to go to sleep. 

"I'm really sorry, Oliver, my head's killing me, would you mind not talking?" He nodded, miming zipping his lips. "Thank you." She bagged the cars and handed them over the counter to Oliver. "Have a good week. I'll see you here soon, I'm guessing." He gave her a thumbs up as he left the store. Her eyes flitted to the clock. A few more minutes and she was free. 

"Alexandra!"

She squeezed her eyes shut before answering. "Yes, Frank?" 

"Start closing up please!" He yelled from who knows where. She was happy that it was finally time to close but _Jesus Christ, why does everyone have to yell so much?_

(Timeskip)

She entered the trailer as quietly as possible. "ALEXANDRA FOSTER!" Her mother bellowed. Lex winced, setting down her bag.

"Yeah?" She whimpered. Her mother stumbled drunkenly down the stairs, grabbing a fistful of her hair. She hissed, trying to pull her mother off her. 

"Where's the money?" She demanded, tugging on Lex's hair. Lex wriggled free from her grasp, to go grab the envelope she kept the rent money in. She handed it to her mother, who quickly looked through it. "Where'd you get all this, huh? Make it sleeping with all the guys in school? Always knew you'd turn out a slut." She threw Lex to the ground with a loud thud before kicking her. 

A small voice cried from the top of the stairs. "Lexi?" 

"No, Banana, please go back to bed!" But it was too late. Her mother had stumbled up the stairs and slapped Hannah across the face. 


	4. Kooky, Reclusive, Biology Professor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mentions of abuse

**lex:** ethan is there any chance that you're up

 **ethan:** yeah, i'm up, is something wrong?

 **lex:** my mom just hit my sister and i'm not keeping her there so i need somewhere to crash

 **ethan:** i can come pick you up and you can stay with me my uncles says it’s okay i just need to know where you are

 **lex:** thank you so much 

**lex:** we're at the trailer park 

**ethan:** i'll be there in about 15 minutes and you'll be safe 

She sighed in relief, squeezing Hannah's hand. "My friend from school is coming to pick us up. We'll be safe for tonight." They has taken only the essentials. Their backpacks, a blanket, a little food, and all the money Lex had saved up. 

Hannah was still crying from the hit, and although it probably wouldn't hurt for too long to almost anybody else, Hannah was sensitive. "It hurts, Lexi."

Lex took in a shaky breath. "I know. I promise, one day we'll get out of Hatchetfield and we'll go somewhere that she'll never find us." Lex assured her. Hannah was shaking, sobbing silently. Normally, Lex would comfort her and make sure she knew everything was okay, but today, she was too tired and anxious to do anything other than grab her hand. 

An old, beat up car rolled up and Ethan stepped out, sending Hannah into a panic. "Lexi!" She grabbed her sister for comfort, who held her back. 

"No, no, he's okay. Ethan's my friend, he won't hurt you, I promise." Hannah loosened her grip on Lex's waist, studying Ethan for a bit. "Does Webby say anything?"

Hannah concentrated for a moment, probably talking to Webby in her head. "Webby says Ethan’s good." Lex sighed in relief, feeling like it was the writers in the sky finally gave her something good. She let go of Lex completely. 

Ethan tried to keep his voice steady and soft, still aware that Lex's head would probably still be hurting. “Okay, Lex, you can ride in front, will Hannah be okay to ride in the back?” Hannah nodded, giving him a thumbs up. Lex smiled at her, as she always did whenever Hannah did something that would normally be out of her comfort zone. 

Lex slipped into the passenger’s seat with her bag on her lap, looking out the window. She could feel tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, and she didn’t bother fighting, she just let them spill, burying her face in her hands as Ethan started driving away. “Lexi? You okay?”

”Sorry, Hannah. I’m just a little sad right now.” Without even thinking first, Ethan grabbed Lex’s hand. She didn’t pull back this time either. 

The drive was only about fifteen minutes, but Lex still managed to get a bit of sleep on the way there. She was woken by Ethan. “Lex, c’mon, you gotta wake up. We’re here, and you can sleep inside.” Her eyes fluttered open, and she dragged herself out of the seat. "So, I live with my uncle, and he's pretty kooky, just... be warned." 

"As long as he's not gonna hit Hannah, I really don't care." She sighed, taking Ethan's hand as he led the two girls into the house. No one said anything about the bruise forming on Lex's cheek. 

Ethan knocked on the door, and through it they heard a, "I'll be right there!" 

Soon, the door swung open, revealing a tall, grey haired man. "Hey, Hidgens." Ethan said. "This is Lex, and this is Hannah." 

"Hello! Come in!" He stepped to the side and the girls followed Ethan inside. "So, you two can sleep in the guest room, down this hallway on the right." He pointed down one of the many hallways in his house. Lex nodded, dropping Ethan's hand and taking Hannah's, leading her down the hall. 

Ethan let them get settled and softly knocked on the door. "Hey, Lex, can I talk to you?" She nodded, grunting as she pulled herself up from the bed. "What happened to you guys?" 

She shut the door so Hannah wouldn't have to hear anything. "Honestly, I'm not really sure. I got back from wok and my mom was asking me for the money for rent, so I gave it to her, and she started calling me a slut and," She noticed the horrified look on Ethan's face. "It's whatever, I don't care anymore. But then Hannah came down because I normally help her fall asleep, and my mom hit her. I packed up everything I have and we got out of there." 

"Lex..." Tears began falling freely down her face. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. You didn't do anything wrong. It wasn't even that bad, I'm just overreacting." She insisted. Ethan shook his head, opening his arms for her to step into. "I don't know what to do. I can't keep Hannah safe if I don't keep paying for my mom's stuff, but I can't do that without going to work, and... I'm exhausted."

He pulled her close, and that was the safest she had felt in years. "You don't have to know right now. We can figure it out. You don't have to do it alone. I promise, it'll be better soon." 

She sighed, knowing that he was probably wrong. But she wanted to believe him. "I hope so." 


	5. literally just a transition chapter

That night was the first night Lex had slept peacefully in such a long time, she had lost count. When she woke up that morning, she was initially confused, but saw Hannah's bruise and was immediately reminded of the previous night's events. "Hannah," She whispered. "Hannah, wake up." Lex knew she hated being woken up, and the morning in general. To her, mornings meant that Lex was going to leave and she'd be with a babysitter almost all day until she got picked up after Lex was done working.

Hannah groaned, and saw Lex. "What?" She whispered.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with you today. I can't bring you to a babysitter, we're too far away. You might have to stay here with Ethan's uncle. That okay?" Lex asked. Hannah nodded, rubbing her eyes. Webby probably told her that Hidgens was good. "Okay, thanks. I gotta get ready for school, and I'll go see if Hidgens can take care of you for the day." 

Lex threw on her Beanies uniform, some sweatpants over the shorts, and tied a sweatshirt around her waist. She grabbed her school bag and walked out to the kitchen. "Oh, good morning, Lex!" Hidgens greeted, a broad smile on his face, ignoring her bruise, too. "Is that a Beanies uniform?" 

"Yeah, I work there a few days every week." She was actually in the mood today

"My sort-of daughter Emma works there." He remarked, pouring a glass of milk, handing it to Lex.

Lex nodded, taking a sip. "Yeah, she's always there during my shifts. She's hilarious." She chugged down about half of the glass and sat down at the table. "Um, so, my sister Hannah doesn't go to school, is it okay if she stays here?" 

"Of course! Anything I should know?" He asked, making himself a cup of coffee.

She actually had to think of how to describe it before. "She's pretty sensitive. She panics if something's too much. If a light's too bright or if something's too loud." Hidgens nodded in understanding. 

"Okay, great. I normally pick Ethan up after school, so of course you're welcome to ride home, too." 

Lex shook her head. "I've got to head straight to Beanies after school, I can just walk here after." 

He hummed. "Alright, but take my number in case you'd like to be picked up." He handed her a piece of paper, and she typed the number into her phone. "We just need to wait for Ethan, and then we'll head to school." Lex nodded. "Would you like some toast or are you one of those people who doesn't like eating in the morning?" 

"Eating in the morning kinda makes me nauseous." She admitted. Hidgens smiled at her, and she returned one. A genuine one. 

"Oh, hi. Sorry, I overslept a little." Ethan said as he entered the kitchen, grabbing the toast that was on the counter. "You feeling any better today, Lex?"

"A lot less tired. My face hurts a little, but nothing I can't handle." She said, her leg bouncing. 

Ethan sat down at the kitchen table next to Lex. "That's good." A few minutes of silence passed and then they were ready to get going. "Here we go again." 

Lex snickered. "You're still sitting with me, Alice, and Deb today, right?" Ethan nodded, buckling his seatbelt. "Okay." 

They arrived at the brick building, and they entered together. 

Another day in Hell.


	6. Lunch (what a genius title)

Lex had never been more excited to go to class. Okay, well, not exactly to go to class, but to go to lunch. Alice wouldn't  be worried  about her today. She was feeling okay, she had food, she wasn't dizzy, and Ethan would be there. 

Something about Ethan made everything better. Everything was brighter, but not the kind of bright that made her head hurt. Everything was a lot less boring and dull today. It could be the amount of sleep she got. It could be that something finally went well for her. It could be that rush she got every time Ethan smiled at her. Who knows? Who cares? 

The cafeteria didn't seem as loud as it did yesterday. "Wait, what's wrong? You're smiling." Alice teased.

"Oh, shut up." Lex rolled her eyes. She spotted Ethan across the cafeteria and waved him over. "You don't mind that Ethan's gonna start sitting with us, do you?" Alice shook her head, and so did Deb. "Okay, great." 

"So did you finally get some sleep?" Lex nodded, beginning to tear off the crust from her sandwich. "Oh, that's great! You look a lot better today." 

"That reminds me, I'm supposed to check in with the nurse today after school." Lex said, thinking out loud. Ethan slipped into the seat next to her. She greeted him with a warm smile.

"You look happy." He noticed, grinning as well. 

"I'm having my first actually decent day in a while." She smiled, taking a large bite out of her sandwich. "How are your classes going so far?" 

Ethan shrugged. "Normal, I guess. Yours?" She shrugged, too. "Okay, anyways, I'm Ethan." He introduced himself to Deb. 

"I'm Deb." She said, greeting him and returning to chatting with Alice, who she was also now holding hands with. 

Lex yawned. "Still tired?" Ethan asked, grabbing her left hand under the table. She looked up at him, a confused, almost playful look in her eyes. He raised his eyebrows, almost as a challenge, and she narrowed her eyes, scrunching up her nose. What that meant, Ethan had no idea. 

"I mean yeah, but a lot less tired that usual."  He analyzed her face and the way she was  slightly  leaning into Ethan's side, determining that she was still pretty exhausted .

"Lex, if you're still tired, you're definitely burnt out." He said, squeezing her hand. "So, mentally, how are you feeling?" 

She hummed, trying to figure out how to answer. "Uh, not terrible, but not fantastic. I'm not feeling as sad as I usually do, but I'm feeling a lot more anxious today." 

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. "Oh, I'm sorry. And I know it doesn't seem true, but nothing bad is going to happen. I promise."

"You can't promise that." She sighed, leaning into him even more. "Some day everything will be better. It has to be." 

Ethan nodded. "It will. Hey, when you get home from work tonight I want to have a talk with you and Hidgens tonight." She bit her lip, nodding. "Don't worry, it's nothing to serious, I  just  want to update Hidgens about you. I  just  want you to tell him so that he won't know anything you don't want him to know." 

"I appreciate that. Thanks, Ethan." He smiled down at her. "I hope Hannah's okay."

"You  really  love her, don't you?" She hummed in agreement. "You're pretty amazing, you know that?" 

Lex made a noise of dispute. "I love her. She deserves a better life than the one she has, and I'm  just  trying to give her a good life." And that’s the first time Ethan saw past Lex’s cold exterior.  She wasn’t some bitchy drug addict, she was  just  an overworked teenager trying to make life better for her little sister  . Lex wasn’t cold-hearted, she was trying to avoid having her heart ripped out and stabbed. "She's my entire world. And I know how cheesy that sounds but it's true. She's why I'm forcing myself to do better. She deserves better than this." Her voice was shaking, a sign she was  probably  about to cry. 

"Hey, hey, you're alright. It's okay. You're allowed to  be upset  , overworked, tired, and  however  you're feeling." He assured her as she buried her face into his shoulder. 

She never did this. She never broke down in public, only ever in her room, by herself, in the dark. "I'm s-sorry." She choked out. "You met me yesterday and I'm doing this shit." 

Ethan had forgotten that they actually had only met yesterday. It felt like they had known each other for years. "No, it's okay. Don't apologize, you're supposed to feel things. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure you become a robot." She gave a wet giggle. "But  really , you're gonna be okay." 

"I know, I just... I'm feeling a lot right now." Ethan smiled down at her. It would all work out in the end. It had to.

Right...?


	7. Beanies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mentions of abuse

Lex walked into Beanies, greeted with a large smile from Emma. "Hey, how busy has it been today?" She asked, the pair walking into the break room. 

"Pretty slow, actually. But Paul and his friends are coming after work so that'll probably be the most exciting part of your shift." Lex snickered, throwing on her apron. "So Hidgens tells me you came to live with him?" 

Lex looked over to her shocked that she already knew. "Yeah. My mom hit my sister so I wasn't letting her stay there anymore. Alice's dad doesn't trust me enough to let me stay over, so I texted my friend Ethan, who lives with Hidgens." Emma nodded, following Lex out to the front. 

"Wait, Bill doesn't trust you?" Emma asked. She was already aware of how terribly Lex's mother treated her, after making Lex confess about the bruises on her face and arms. "How come?"

"I dated Alice a little while ago, he found out, was worried that we were gonna fuck every time I slept over, and then got mad at me when I broke up with her." Emma snorted at Lex's bluntness. "She's still my best friend we just didn't really work as a couple."

Emma made her way over to the bar to spray it down and wipe it off. "I love hearing all your high school drama. It's incredibly entertaining. So, tell me more about Ethan. And also Alice, you two dated?" 

Lex held a finger up before taking down a customer's order and then beginning to make it. "Okay, who first?" 

"Hmm... Alice. Let's go with chronological order." Lex rolled her eyes, grinning. This was definitely her favorite job. Emma made pretty much everything hilarious. 

"Okay, so basically, I'm bi. I've always kinda known that. Alice came out to me last year and she told me she liked me, I said I liked her back, we got together, cheesy shit. After a few months, I kinda figured out that I liked her more platonically than romantically, so I told her that, and we just agreed to be friends." Lex explained, handing a coffee to a customer. 

"Well, I'm happy it didn't ruin your friendship. Alice is a great kid." Emma finished wiping off the table and came behind the counter. "Okay, now tell me about Ethan. Cause you're clearly already crushing on him" She pointed out. 

Lex's jaw dropped open in defense. "I do not! He's just a nice guy, okay?" Emma wiggled her shoulders teasingly. "Emma..." She whined dramatically. 

"Seriously, dude, tell me about him!" Emma begged. "Your drama is the only entertainment in my life!" 

"I met him yesterday, he's in shop with me, and I passed out so he brought me to the nurse." She said, leaning against the counter. "He's pretty cool and Hannah likes him. Hidgens is pretty nice, too." 

Emma smiled. "Why'd you pass out?" 

"Didn't drink enough water, or get enough sleep, or something. I'm okay, though." Emma gave her pointed look, which she returned. 

"Okay. But you let me know if you're dizzy, or overworked or whatever." Lex nodded understandingly. "Anyways, how are you classes going?" 

She made a noise of indifference. "Well, I missed the second half of the day yesterday, cause Becky wanted me to stay so I could eat and I wouldn't, like, die or something."

Emma laughed. "Wait, Becky Barnes?" Lex shrugged. "God, I hated her in high school. Still kinda do. She's so peppy." 

"I guess. She's pretty nice though." The bell above the door rang, and through it came Zoey. 15 minutes late. "Oh, hey, Zoey." 

"Hey, Lex, sorry I'm late. Actually, no I'm not. I don't care." She said, giving Lex and Emma a snarky grin, heading into the back. 

"Bitch." Lex muttered under her breath. 

They heard Zoey's voice ring out from the back. "Thanks, Lex, you'll be staying after to clean up tonight!" She sighed, leaning her head on her hand. 

"I'll help you." Emma offered. "I'm sorry she's like this."

Lex shrugged. "It's nothing worse than anything I've ever dealt with, it's just annoying." For a while, they didn't talk to each other, just worked. But then Paul's friends came in. 

"I'm taking my break. You guys can deal with the loser squad." She rolled her eyes, walking away, eyes not leaving her phone. 

The girls smiled as the group came over, sitting at the bar to talk to them. "Hey, guys," Lex greeted. "What can I get for you?" 

One of the guys, Ted, she was pretty sure, started rattling off a list. She quickly wrote it all down. He ended that with, "And maybe your number?" 

"Ew, dude, I'm fifteen." She said, revolted. Lex began work on their orders, and could feel his gaze on her, but she really just wanted to get it over with. "Alright," She said, handing out the first few coffees. "How are you doing today, Melissa?" 

"Pretty good!" She responded chipperly. "How're you?" 

Lex smiles at her, turning back to grab the other coffees and pastries, "I'm okay, thank you for asking. Paul, how's work?" 

"Actually, it's going great!" She handed him his coffee. 

"I'm glad to hear it!" She matched his excited tone. "Charlotte, you doing alright?" Lex asked the woman who look zoned out.

She snapped back to reality. "Oh, I'm fine." Lex didn't believe her, but she let it slide anyway. 

"Bill, you liking work?" He nodded, not saying a word more. "Ted, still a sleazy asshole?" She teased. He nodded, grinning. 

"You guys, Lex must actually like you. She's taking time to be _nice._ " Emma joked.

Lex brought her hand to her chest and gasped. "Words can _hurt_ , Emma." 

Emma shrugged and Lex smiled. 

Beanies was okay. 


	8. It's Serious

Hidgens picks her up from Beanies without even asking first. Ethan was in the passenger's seat. "How'd it go?" 

"It was fine. Emma's always on my shifts, so they're bearable." Ethan nodded, even though he didn't have any idea who Emma was. "Ethan, do you have any idea how to do the math homework?" Lex asked, pulling it out of her bag. 

"Probably not, you're in the advanced class." She slumped back in her seat, biting her lip as she tried to make herself focus. _Come on, Lex, you know how to do this, what's wrong with you?_ "Hidgens could probably help though, he's pertty much a genius."

"I've got a doctorate in biology, bud, not math," Hidgens teased. "But I should be able to help you, Lex." 

She sighed in relief. "Thank fucking God." Hidgens gave her a pointed look. "I can't tell if you're extremely religious or just don't want me to curse. I suck at social cues." 

"It would do you no harm to avoid cursing." He said, turning his attention to the road. Lex nodded, knowing it wouldn't hurt, but it would be difficult to initially get under control. "So, Ethan told you we're going to need to talk tonight?" 

"Yeah." She said. To be honest, she _did_ forget, but she remembered as soon as Hidgens said it. "I... Hannah's not gonna be there right?" 

"Correct. Any specific reason you don't want her there?" 

"She wouldn't like hearing about our mom and shit. She doesn't like hearing about me getting hurt or stuff like that." Lex muttered, but everyone riding in the car could hear it. "Hang on, she's by herself?"

Ethan turned around to explain it to her. "She wouldn't leave, said something about a storm, so we asked if she'd be okay with staying there, she said yes." Lex still didn't look too comfortable, so he added, "It's the securest house on the island, Lex, she's going to be fine." 

"But what if she has a panic attack and I'm not there to help her? What if--?" She began panicking about all the bad things that could be happening to Hannah. 

"Lex, calm down. I know you're worried about her, but you need to trust us when we tell you that she's okay. I can tell she means a lot to you, and I promise, I wouldn't let anything bad happen to her." Lex considered this for a moment. _Safest house on the island. They say she's safe._ "Lex, hey, you can hear me, right?" She nodded, eyes opening. "I want you to talk to me about something. It doesn't even have to be anything important, just keep talking and focus on what you're saying to me." 

She tried her hardest to get her thoughts in line, but it didn't work and her head was starting to hurt. "I can't." Ethan didn't push her. 

"We're almost there, and you'll be able to check on your sister." Hidgens guaranteed. "You really care about her, huh?"

Lex nodded. "I'm kind of a mother figure to her. My mom dropped her when she was a baby because she's always drunk, so I didn't let her anywhere near Hannah from then on." 

"You're an awesome sister," Ethan commented, not even turning around. Lex scoffed behind. "Don't even start with me on that. You're _incredible._ You practically raised yourself and your sister, you work two jobs, and you manage to take care of her and spend time with her."

"Did she tell you that?" He just laughed, which answered her question. "She's a lot smarter than people think." Ethan grinned, looking out the window, losing himself in his thoughts. 

He was almost excited to hear about Lex's backstory. _Wait, is that creepy? No, I'm trying to be nice. Ugh, this "emotions" stuff is difficult._

"Hey, Ethan, wake up, we're here." Hidgens announced, opening the car door for Lex.

"Thank you!" She grinned, sliding out, bag on her back. She waited a minute or two for Hidgens to unlock everything, then she follows him in. "Where's Hannah?" 

Hidgens took her hand, which she pulled back instinctively, "Oh goodness, I'm so sorry, dear!" She shook her head and they decided to drop it. "Hannah's in the guest room." Lex made her way to the room, walking with a brisk stride. 

"Hey, Hannah," She said in a soft tone. "Were you okay while I was gone?" She hummed, wrapping her arms around Lex. "That's good. Hidgens seems really nice. I'm gonna have to go talk with him and Ethan for a few minutes just to catch them up." Hannah didn't let go, so Lex took her hand and traced patterns on it. "Okay. I'm gonna go for now, but I'll be back soon." She promised, walking to the kitchen to sit down next to Ethan. 

"Alright, Lex. So, first, are you hurt at all?" She shook her head, shedding her jacket. 

She gestured to some bruises on her arms and one nasty looking cut. "Just these, mostly. I tried to take care of the cut, but I had literally nothing to use." He raised his eyebrows after inspecting the cut.

"Okay. Well, I've got a ton of first aid supplies, so you can clean that and put a bandage on it later. It doesn't look infected. Did anyone at Beanies ask about it?" 

"I'm sure someone was concerned, but no one asked. Emma already knew about my mom, so she kinda expected it," Lex explained, putting back on her jacket. "Paul's friends were probably worried, but none of them said anything." 

Hidgens nodded. "So, I'm not going to make you go into detail, but could you tell me the jist of what your mother did?" 

She nodded solemnly. "She's not bad most of the time, it's just if I make her angry, or I don't pay rent on time, or I can't get her weed, or whatever... she throws bottles at me or kicks me or whatever she feels like doing, honestly." She said it nonchalantly, but the look of horror on Hidgens and Ethan's faces were enough to tell her that maybe it wasn't normal. "She hit Hannah last night and I got angry and packed our things and got out of there. I can handle pain. Hannah's really sensitive." Hidgens seemed to already be aware of that. 

"Alright. Is there anything else I should know? Does Hannah go to school?" She shook her head to both questions. "Well, you two can head off to bed now. Unless you have any questions, of course." 

"No, thanks though." She said, standing up and wrapping her jacket tightly around her. 

"Ethan, stay here for a moment." He obeyed, watching Lex leave. "You like Lex, don't you?" Hidgens teased. 

He nodded shyly. "Yeah... I do." 


	9. dumb teenagers

Ethan was sitting in the hallway, leaning against the wall as he sometimes did. His legs just sometimes decided to stop working and he would feel his knees buckle and give out. So there he was, furiously texting Alice, sitting in the middle of one of the long hallways in Hidgens's house.

**ethan:** aaaaalice

**alice:** eeeeeeeeeethan

**ethan:** i have news and i have literally nobody to share it with but you

**alice:** i'm all ears (eyes? since we're texting?)

**ethan:** i think i like lex

**alice:** yeah we all could tell do you have any actual news

**ethan:** IM SORRY WHAT

**alice:** dude you're like constantly making googly eyes at her

**ethan:** FUCK do you think she knows??

**alice:** she couldn't tell when i was literally flirting with her so probably not 

**ethan:**??? what am i missing

**alice:** nothing i didn't ask her if it was okay i feel so bad

**ethan:** ohhhhh i see 

**alice:** don't FRICKIN TELL HER

**ethan:** "frickin" and no i won't tell her i promise

"You won't tell me what?" Lex asked, and although he was looking down, he could imagine the playful look on her face. He didn't respond, but instead looked up at her nervously. She seemed amused, an eyebrow raised, a teasing smile on her face. "Ethan, tell me. Please?"

He crossed his arms defiantly, "Absolutely not. That's kinda the point of me saying that I won't tell you." 

"But it involves me." She countered, sliding down next to him. "Why are you on the floor?"

He rolled his eyes. "That's why I'm not telling you, love." He realized what he'd said as soon as the word slipped from him mouth, but he decided to attempt to move past it like nothing had happened. "And for your information, my knees buckled so I'm sitting on the floor." She sighed, leaning into him for comfort. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, holding her closer in content silence. 

"Now will you tell me?"

Lex whispered. He looked over to her, scrunched up his nose, and answered, "Never." 

"Will you let me guess?" He nodded. "So, I know it was about me, and I know you were texting Ally, oh..." She looked down at her hands. "It was about Ally and I, wasn't it?" Ethan nods slowly. "She outed me?" 

"No, no, no! She didn't mean to and she felt really bad after!" He assured her, which eased the look on her face. "So you're...?" 

Lex didn't answer for a moment, but then worked up enough courage to explain, "I'm bi." She sighed. "That was hard. I thought it would be easier than that." 

“No, I get it. I mean, not exactly, but if it was easy more people would do it.” She shrugged, knowing he was right. "I'm proud of you. It can't be easy to come out to somebody who you met about a day ago." 

Lex laughed. "I... yeah, that's fair. Okay, so... um, I'm gonna go sleep now." She said, standing up. "Do you need help getting up?" 

"Oh, no, it's fine, Hidgens normally helps when he's on his way to bed." Lex gave him a pointed look. "Yes, please." He reached for her hand, she took his, and pulled him up with ease. "Thanks."

She winked and made her way to her and Hannah's room. 

_That girl is going to be the death of me._


	10. hIDgeNs

"Hidgens..." Ethan whined to him over breakfast the next morning, while Lex was still asleep. "Lex is killing me." 

Hidgens laughed softly. "Oh, young love. What happened last night?" 

Ethan bit his tongue, trying to figure out how to best explain it. "She... I dunno. She was being really confident and I guess it kinda threw me off. Not in a bad way, it just kinda caught me off guard." Hidgens studied his expression, trying to decipher what he could be hiding. 

"I am shit at interacting with humans," Hidgens stated bleakly, "However, I'm almost positive that she's just warming up to you. You know, she's more comfortable around you, and she probably considers you a friend so she's treating you how she'd treat her friends." He watched Ethan's face change. First he looked elated, then confused, then banged his head on the table. "First of all, you're driving to school today, correct? And are you alright?"

"Yeah, I am. And she's driving me CRAZY," He exclaimed, the sound muffled by his arms. 

Lex laughed as she entered the kitchen. "I assume you're talking about me?" 

"Uhh, no?" She gave him a pointed look, arms crossed. "It could be another girl!" He countered. 

"What other girls do you know?" She teased. 

Hidgens joined in now. "She's right, you literally know nobody else." 

Lex cackled and uncrossed her arms. Ethan was quick to defend himself, "No, I know Alice and Deb!" 

She rolled her eyes, grinning. "I'm just teasing, I know you know them." Hidgens gave Ethan a wink, to which he groaned. "What's your first period today?" 

He thought for a moment. "Pretty sure I have a free period, why?"

"I've got one, too. Ever seen 'the burrow?'" Lex asked in a dramatic tone. Ethan shook his head and she smirked. "Then that's where we're gonna go." 

She grabbed his hand and pulled him out to the car. "Well, someone's excited." He laughed with her, sliding into the front seat, Lex in the passenger's seat. "Okay, Lex, is something wrong?"

"No, why would you think so?" She pulled the seat belt across her chest. "I'm perfectly fine. Maybe you're the one that something's wrong with." 

_She's definitely being weird, right? It's not just me over analyzing everything?_ "Lex, seriously, are you okay?" 

"Yeah. I feel like... actually decent today." She said, looking out the window and admiring the surroundings. "It doesn't feel right. I'm... I feel like something bad's gonna happen."

Ethan nodded, and reached over for Lex's hand. "Okay. Well, you know, rationally, there's no reason for anything bad to happen."

"I know, I'm just always kinda worried." He hummed, rubbing his fingers over the back of her hand. "There's probably something wrong with me. Probably 'cause of my mom and how I grew up and all that." 

He had heard Hidgens mention something about what Lex was talking about a while back. "I... Hidgens was talking about something like that with Emma. It's called... I can't remember. Angst? No, that's not it... Anxiety! That's what it is!" 

"Nah, it's not that. I'm just being irrational." She brushed it off. 

He tried to quickly figure out how to explain it without letting her let it slide. "You are, but that's kinda the point, you're still anxious." She was silent, not knowing how to respond. "Lex, do you wanna talk with someone?"

"There's nothing to talk about, I'm fine!" She insisted, dropping Ethan's hand. Ethan focused on the road, waiting for Lex to calm down. "I'm sorry for flipping out on you. I'm not good at talking about my feelings. It's scary," Lex sighed, cautiously taking Ethan's hand once more. 

"Thanks for apologizing. You want to tell me why talking about your feelings is scary?" He asked gently. 

She hummed in thought for a moment. "Trusting people normally backfires for me. I got lucky with you, and Ally, and Deb... but what if it stops? What if Ally outs me? What if you out me? I don't know who I can trust and I'm so scared all the time but I have to be strong for Hannah because if I'm not she'll have nobody and she deserves so much better than anything I can give her," She rambled. 

"Okay, you're okay, Lex. It's okay. It's gonna be okay." 

And for some reason, she believed him. 

For some reason, she could feel he was right. 

For some reason, she could feel herself floating. 

_Fuck. I'm in love again._


	11. The "Burrow"

"We're here," Ethan said, pulling Lex out of her worried thoughts.

"Oh, okay. Sorry, just kinda got caught up in my thoughts, sorry." She apologized profusely, opening the door. He gave her a sorry look, exiting the car himself. "Okay, I gotta go to homeroom, but I'll find your locker and meet you there. We can head to the burrow after."

He nodded and the went their separate ways. Lex sighed a, "Here," In homeroom, waiting for it to end, suddenly a lot more eager to hang out with Ethan. She tapped her pencil on her desk in a pattern, not exactly understanding what it was. 

"Hey," Ethan smiled, eyes shining as he saw Lex approaching him. She took his hand and started their way down the hallway. "Lead the way, babe," He laughed. 

She looked back at him, smiling. "Babe? That's a new one."

Ethan shrugged as they exited the back door. "It fits you." Lex began running, and Ethan followed behind, although much slower. "Jesus, Lex, how the fuck are you so fast?" She didn't answer, just laughed, accelerating. "Lex, I can't run!" He yelled, and she took pity on him, and slowed down. "Wait, what is this place?" 

"Where I come when I don't want to be in class," She said, sitting down on the grass. He joined her, grinning. "Thought I should introduce you to it 'cause Deb and Alice know. Deb and I come out here to smoke sometimes." He nodded, observing the sky from his spot on the ground. Lex didn't say anything more, but she did reach for his hand, which he gladly gave to her. 

He sighed. "What are we, Lex?" That wasn’t something he expected to come out of his mouth.

"I dunno. What do you want to be?" She asked, to which he blushed. "I know what I want, but do you?" 

"Yes...? I mean, I already really like you, and I've known you for less than two days." She didn't let him say much more, instead pulled him in by his jacket and kissed him. At first he was a tad shocked, but then came to his senses and kissed her back. 

"I didn't misread that, did I?" She asked after she pulled back. He just shook his head, stunned. "Okay, good." 

Ethan couldn’t stop smiling. We, he probably could if he really tried and looked away from Lex, but there was no reason to do that anyway. “So... dating?”

She nodded. “Dating.”


	12. oh shIt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is gonna be more centered around hidgens so that'll be fun

Hidgens knew Ethan and Lex had started dating as soon as they stepped in through the door, being much more touchy than usual. He raised and eyebrow at Ethan who didn't notice, because he was too busy smiling at something Lex was saying. He laughed, shaking his head and returning to grading papers. "Ethan, come in here for a second." 

He heard an exaggerated groan come from the living room and soon Ethan walked through the door. “What’s up?”

”So I’m assuming you told her?” Ethan laughed, shaking his head.

”Not directly. I kinda... implied it. She’s the bold one anyways,” He said. “Mmkay, gonna go hang out with her now, bye,” And then he was gonna and Hidgens was left to wonder how the hell he was going to keep them from fucking under his roof. No way would he let the teens traumatize the child! (Or him, in all honesty.)

Hannah wandered into the study, a place she had discovered the day before, and really liked. It was peaceful and relaxing. However, it turned out someone was already in there. She turned to leave, when Hidgens said softly, “You can stay, if you’d like. I’m just grading some essays from my students.” 

She nodded, plopping herself on the carpeted floor. “Teacher?”

He smiled, nodding. “I’m a professor at the college. Do you know what biology is?”

Hannah hummed, tapping her fingers on her thigh. “Mmm... something ‘bout life?” 

He felt his jaw drop; No way did he expect her to know that. Ethan still didn’t know that, and he was fifteen. “Exactly! Good job!” He responded enthusiastically. 

“Why’re Lexi and Ethan smiling so big?” The voices in Hidgens’s head quickly had a debate on whether or not to tell Hannah that they were dating.

He decided against it, saying instead something along the lines of, “I’m not too sure. Maybe you should ask them.”

”But you know.” She said, not a question, but not quite a statement either. 

"It's up to them to choose if they want to tell you or not. Sorry, Hannah." She just nodded in understanding before leaving the room, presumably to go talk to Ethan and Lex.   
He returned into his work until he heard commotion coming from the living room.

Some yelling, possibly some crying, and he was out of his chair right away. "Kids? What's wrong?" 

It turns out Lex was the one screaming _and_ crying. "Lex's mom texted her something pretty... nasty and she's really scared." 

Hidgens recognized the signs Lex was exhibiting. "She's having an anxiety attack, Ethan, move." He did and Hidgens made his way over to Lex, who was violently hyperventilating. "Hey, Lex, can you look at me?" She obeyed. "It feels like you can't breathe, doesn't it?" She nodded, squeezing her eyes shut. "I know. But you're breathing too much. You've gotta slow down." He started taking deep breaths for her to mimic. Her breaths started to slow to a normal speed. "Good. You're doing good." Her eyes were still squeezed shut, and she was finally breathing steadily again. She laid back on the couch, completely drained. "Great job, Lex. That was really good." 

"That keeps happening and I never know how to stop it." Hidgens was alarmed. She had said it so nonchalantly, as if it wasn't a big deal. 

"I think you know that's not good." He said, intentionally not giving her the option to brush it aside or to deny it. "Ethan said you got a text from your mom and that's what caused this?" She nodded, reaching for her phone. 

The message read: _im going to fucking kill you you whore. i know you ran off with some guy so you could keep all the money for yourself and i wont let it happen. im gonna find you and kill you and your fucking retard sister and i swear to god youll never be safe again_

"It's stupid... she can hardly walk 'cause she's always so drunk. But 'm still scared." Ethan stroked her hair to calm her down. 

"You're allowed to be scared, babe. She hurt you. It's a rational fear." Ethan assured her. "But you're safe here. I promise." 

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. 


	13. hurt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Abuse

"Lex, wake up!" Hidgens yelled, shaking her awake. "Your mother is here and the three of you need to hide in the basement. Now." She stumbled out of her bed, already alert. Hidgens placed his hands on her shoulders to stable her. "Hey, woah, careful!" She sighed, nodding. 

Ethan grabbed her hand once he spotted her. "Love, I promise it'll be fine."

"Yeah, I know." She said drowsily. "There's like six gates and locks and my mom can hardly walk when she's drunk like she always is." Lex said, following Ethan down to the basement where she sat down next to Hannah. "Mornin', Banana, you alright?" 

"No. Bad." Lex didn't pry. She knew Hannah was worried about their mother. She also knew that she wouldn't hurt them. "Bad person."

"Mom won't hurt us," Lex promised. "I won't let her hurt you again." It was never too early to be protective over Hannah. "Try to fall back asleep if you can. It'll be over faster." Hannah nodded, the logic making perfect sense to her. 

A banging was heard a lot upstairs. Lex felt herself starting to hyperventilate, Ethan saw it as well and grabbed her hand to comfort her. "Hey, babe, it's alright. Hidgens is gonna handle it, and everything will be alright. You're safe here, okay." 

"Fuckin' failure of a daughter," Lex heard a voice grumble, and some yelling after that. She identified it right away, it was her mother, however her brain didn't want to acknowledge it. And it most certainly didn't want to acknowledge the footsteps coming down the stairs. "Where are you, you fucking liar?" 

Lex was not prepared for most things in her life. She was not prepared to raise Hannah, but she did it anyway. She was not prepared to work two jobs to keep herself and her sister fed, but she did it anyway. Lex was not prepared for her mother to come around the corner and kick her, but it happened anyway. "Fuck," She muttered. 

"You took my fucking money!" Their mother yelled, kicking her over and over with no intention of stopping.

"Don't you fucking touch her," Ethan said, his voice threatening and low, pushing the Foster's mother away from Lex. It took her a few moments to get back on her feet. 

This time, Hidgens rushed in, pulling the Foster's mother out of the basement. Lex was holding off a panic attack and Ethan rushed over to her to hold her and calm her down. "Hey, Lex, I'm right here. It's okay. It's gonna be okay." He promised her. 

Hadn't he learned by now?


	14. Chapter 14

Four hours. That's how long it took for Lex to feel safe enough to come out of the basement. And Ethan stayed with her the whole time, holding her and whispering everything and nothing to her to keep her calm.

He let her squeeze his hand as they left the basement. "Hey, Lex?" She looked back at him. "I'm really proud of you." 

She snorted, shaking her head. "Don't be, I was a coward. I fucking cried instead of dealing with it myself." Lex spat, bitterly. 

Ethan gently took her face in his hands. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Your mother abused you. You raised your sister so well. It is not your fault that you were scared. She was going to hurt you again. You were not a coward. And I'm really proud that you're doing this." She couldn't bring her eyes up to meet his. "There's something special about you, Lex Foster." 

Lex laughs softly and kisses the tip of his nose. "I like you, Ethan Green. I like you a lot." He blushes, and tries to cover it up, but he's not quick enough. "What do we do now?" 

Ethan shrugged, and took her hand, leading her to their shared room. He quickly typed something on his phone, and music started playing. "Dance with me?" He said, offering her his hand. 

"Sure." Lex giggles. Ethan grins at her widely, carefully placing his hands on her waist and Lex wrapped her hands around his neck. 

They couldn't tell you how long they were dancing together. However long it was, they were happy the whole time, and they spent time talking as normal teenagers would. "So, Lexie, what's your favorite movie?"

She had to think for a moment. "I don't think I have one." That wasn't entirely true, she loved any movie that Hannah enjoyed, but she hadn't seen many movies that were for teenagers. "I haven't seen many movies rated above G." She admitted, chuckling quietly.

"Well, we'll just have to change that, won't we?" And without another word, Ethan pulled her down onto the bed, grabbing his phone and typing something else on it. "How are you with horror?" He asked, letting her snuggle into his side. 

As he brought his hand up to stroke at her hair, she answered, "I dunno, fine, I guess." 

He squinted, studying her expression for a moment. "Mmm... maybe we should watch one of the classics." Lex didn't say anything, so he assumed she was okay with that. "We're gonna watch _The Wizard of Oz._ " He grinned, placing his phone on the side table and turning on his side to see it. "I think you'll love it." 

"Sounds good." 

It was an hour into the movie when Ethan realized Lex had fallen asleep. "Sleep well, babe." He whispered. She deserved it after the rough day she's had already.


	15. Chapter 15

**lex:** ethan

 **lex:** you fucking bastard!!!!!!!!!!!!

 **lex:** you let me fall asleep >:(

 **ethan:** oops?

 **ethan:** well in me defen

 **lex:** yeah?

 **ethan:** you're pretty when you sleep

 **lex:** ew

 **ethan:**?

 **lex:** self loathing babeyyyy

He smiled down at his phone, getting so distracted that he didn't notice the professor coming up behind him. He laughed, seeing the stupid grin on his face. "Talking to Lex again, huh?" Ethan quickly shut off his phone, trying to look as natural as possible. 

"No!" He denied. "How'd you guess?" He said, a few moments later, genuinely bewildered. 

Hidgens chuckled. "You've got a really wide smile on your face. You love her," Hidgens teased in a sing-song voice. 

Ethan pouted jokingly, crossing his arms. The professor snickered at something behind him, but he didn't know exactly at what. "I can quit any time I want!" He insisted.

"But do you want to?" He heard someone say from behind him. _Oh shit, it's Lex._ She laughed, and he joined her. "It's alright, babe, don't worry about it." Lex wrapped her arms around him and buried her chin in his hair. Hidgens quietly stepped away, giving the two some privacy. "You're amazing."

He snorted in disbelief. "No. What's gotcha so sappy? And come over on this side so I can cuddle you." Lex smiled, quickly making her way around the couch. She grabbed his hand as soon as she sat down. She leaned into his side and he gently wrapped his arm around her waist. "Is somethin' wrong? You're being extra cuddly right now." 

"I'm just sad and I like your cuddles." She shrugged, using her other hand to play with the hem of his shirt. 

He thought about how to carefully ask his next question. "Um, does it have something to do with your mother," He said that with absolute disgust in his tone. "getting in here yesterday?" She just nodded. "Oh, Lex..." He pulled her into a hug, and squeezed her tight. "I promise you, we won't let her hurt you again." And he knew that he couldn't really promise it. But he'd do it anyway. 

"I don't care about me, I don't want her hurting my sister." He nodded. It was admirable how much she really cared for her sister. "I love her so much, I really don't think you even know." Lex whispered, hugging him back. "I'd do anything to keep her safe." Ethan rubbed her back, not knowing what else to do. "I could never live with myself if I let her get hurt." 

Lex sighed into his shoulder, and Ethan just squeezed her tighter. "You're an amazing sister, Lex. But you put too much stress on yourself." Then he felt her start to cry. "Hey," He said gently, a hand reaching towards her hair to comb his fingers through it. "Let it out, you're okay. You're safe. It's okay. You can just let it out. It's okay to be upset." Although she couldn't tell him in the moment, she truly appreciated his comforting words. "Lexie, babe, I am so incredibly proud of you. Do you wanna check on Hannah and see how she's doing?" Lex pulled away from his shoulder and nodded. "Okay. Want me to carry you?" He chuckled. She shook her head and stood up. 

Carefully, she knocked on Hannah's door. "Lexie!" Hannah said, jumping out of her room excitedly. She stopped smiling when she noticed the tear stains on Lex's face. "What happened?"

"Oh, it's nothing, Banana, I'm just being stupid. It's fine." Lex promised falsely. Hannah looked at her suspiciously for a moment, but then shrugged it off. Ethan raised his eyebrows and placed a hand on Lex's back, somewhat protectively. 

"Babe... haven't I told you it's okay to feel things?" Lex didn't give him a response, but kissed his jaw before joining Hannah, who had made her way to the living room. 

**Author's Note:**

> Shh, I know that Alice went to school in Clivesdale.


End file.
